What's next for Northside ISD after Superintendent Craft's retirement announcement?
The Northside Independent School District is preparing to bid goodbye to retiring Superintendent John Craft and welcome a new temporary leader as early as this month.
The district's board approved an agreement for the voluntary retirement of Craft late Wednesday and directed staff to seek internal applicants for an interim superintendent who will succeed the departing leader.
Trustees plan this summer to discuss hiring a search firm to look for a permanent replacement. The board could select Craft's long-term successor by January or February to run the state's fourth-largest school district.
Craft, 49, announced June 2 that he planned to retire Aug. 1. He offered to stay on as a consultant to the board in the fall, even though his contract as superintendent runs through April 2030. The former Killeen ISD superintendent began working at Northside in April 2023. Just a few days before his announced retirement, the board was scheduled to discuss his annual evaluation in an executive session that's closed to the public, according to a May 26 meeting agenda.
Northside ISD is one of several large area districts in the middle of a major leadership transition. Longtime North East ISD Superintendent Sean Maika left the school system earlier this year, and trustees recently hired Anthony Jarrett as his permanent replacement. San Antonio ISD trustees named Adrian Bustillos lone finalist to succeed retiring Superintendent Jaime Aquino. The Judson ISD board in June hired the district's fifth superintendent this year as trustees prepare to search for a permanent successor to ousted Superintendent Milton Fields.
In Northside, the board emerged Wednesday from a two-hour closed session to approve a voluntary retirement agreement without opposition. Details of the agreement were not discussed or available Wednesday evening. Trustees Karla Duran and Bobby Blount were absent.
The board considered advertising for an executive search firm, but trustees said they wanted to coordinate a time when all seven board members could be present to make a decision.
"The timing is the key because days and months will start getting by pretty quickly, especially with the fall semester starting," Craft told trustees.
The board unanimously approved a proposal by trustee Carol Harle for interim superintendent's position to be posted internally, no later than Monday. Board members said they may conduct interviews for the post before their next regular board meeting on July 28. Classes resume for the district on Aug. 10.
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District leadership is weighing whether to ask voters on Nov. 3 for a three-cent increase in the school district's tax rate. If approved, the new funding would support a 2% raise for employees and other compensation adjustments and help offset a $31 million operating budget deficit. The district also is considering a bond election in November, and has posted an information page on both potential ballot items on its website.
The board plans to consider calling an election and approving a 2027 budget and tax rate at an Aug. 11 meeting.
Northside is the largest school district in Bexar County and the fourth-largest in Texas with about 95,500 students expected to enroll in the fall. But like other large districts, it has suffered from financial challenges and declining enrollment. The district reached a peak enrollment of nearly 108,000 in 2020 but has since seen its student population fall, with an estimated 18,000 students in its boundaries attending charters, other districts' magnet programs, private schools or pursuing other educational options.
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